GoIsrael Community

Hello! 

I'm looking for some advice concerning tourism in Israel over Shavuot.  The short version of my question is this: to what extent does the country (museums, restaurants, etc.) shut down for those two days?

For the long version of my question, let me give some background: my family and I will be in Israel for ten days, May 22 - June 1.  The first two nights we're planning to stay in Tel Aviv.  Then we'd like to spend four of the remaining nights in Jerusalem and the other four split between locations in the north and south (Mediterranean coast / Sea of Galilee region and Masada / Ein Gedi region, respectively), in some order.  The question is, given that three of these eight days include Shavuot and Shabbat, what is the best way to plan our itinerary?  If we plan to spend our last four days (May 28 - June 1) in Jerusalem, will the combination of Shavuot and Shabbat make it difficult for us to see all the various sights and museums there?  Or on the other hand, would we find ourselves more constrained by the holiday / holy days elsewhere in the country (e.g. Caesarea, Akko, Haifa, towns around the Sea of Galilee, Golan Heights, Masada, Ein Gedi)? 

Any light anyone can shed on this matter whatsoever would be enormously useful and greatly appreciated.

Very best regards,

Catherine

Personally, I'd try to avoid it.  Even though the non-Jewish sites and locations are all functioning as usual, it's hard from the point of view of transportation (unless you're renting a car), and any infrastructure services / logistics you need from the country are closed.  That said, if it's your only option of dates, try to be in a Muslim or Christian destination during the holiday.  The Old City of Jerusalem would be ideal, since even the Jewish Quarter is lovely on Shavuot.  I'd even take a charming hostel in the Old City itself; they're cheap, excellently located for a 2-day immersion in the atmosphere of the Old City and beautiful.